Hmm

I really need to find a job soon.

But I really can't give up and settle for less. I still look at admin positions and I'm curious as to what kind of companies these positions are for, and how big the company is... I'm gauging for the room for growth. That's really important if I decide to take a position that isn't really to my liking, but a foot in the door.

I've been trying to apply to at least one job per day. The waiting game is long, but I have to keep active. I will find a good job very soon!!

I'm also considering temp jobs for only a few months or weeks. I need some income right now and it'd be a good way of getting to know new companies. Kind of like an internship, but not really, and paid. :)

I haven't heard back from the marketing company yet... I hope I'm not out of the running.

I'm just going to keep applying to interesting jobs and get interviews. :) No settling for less!

Chin up!

I declined the job offer I had after talking with a few people about it... it definitely wasn't the right fit, and I couldn't ignore the red flags. Culture is important and I shouldn't take a position if it doesn't fit. Also, I'm very determined to find a job I will be happy with, and I wouldn't want to put the burden on the company if I needed to resign right away. So I would've started today if I had accepted. Back to job hunting.

Since then, a lot of things have been looking good. I'm currently in consideration for a marketing job for a marketing consultant's client, I'm not sure what stage I am at right now in the interview process, but it looks pretty good. They're asking me a lot of questions about my experience. But the thing is I don't know too much about whether it's a right fit. I think it's a part-time position based on the job ads that they have posted on sites, but I'm not even sure if it's an ongoing position. Seems like a position for a month or a few months. Also, one of the requirements listed was a drivers license, which I don't have, but when I had the phone interview, I think the interviewer said they might be able to get around that, and asked if I use public transportation. I know this job has a lot of locations I would need to get to, in other cities... so I don't know, but it looks like they are still considering me.

Also, today I received a response to my intern ad. There's a company looking for an intern, unpaid right now but they said there will be paid opportunities in February. I replied with a resume and my portfolio as per their request, so hopefully we can work something out. I really would like to learn more about marketing and the possibility for a paid opportunity is also really awesome! Hopefully the hours are reasonable, I will still need to work a job in the mean time.

I also applied to one job today, so hopefully I can get an interview soon!!! I applied to a few positions a while ago, but their due dates aren't until the first week of December. I am trying to reach my goal of finding an opportunity before the holiday season, and be able to have an offer for the new year.

Ahhhhhhhhh

I got the offer.

I am so wishy washy right now.

A part of me today was saying I should accept the position because I don't have other offers, and I need to pay bills.

Another part of me saw the job postings that I really want to apply for and said to decline the offer and wait.

Playing the waiting game is tough because it's unpredictable.

I could take the job, but I'd feel horrible and would burn bridges if I found something right away. But then if I don't take the job, I don't know when I'll find a job.

Also, I despise admin work so, so much. But it's only for four hours a day, so it's not as bad as it was before.

This wouldn't be so tough if I had at least a week to think about it. But I only have a day...

I asked myself why I accepted my previous jobs.

Here's why:

My last contract job: It paid well, and I was desperate for a job. Red flag was during the interview and on my very first day.

My startup job: I took it because I thought it'd be a good opportunity to grow... and I wanted a mentor. It just wasn't the right fit. It also paid really low with no benefits.

My first job: I didn't know anything about the workforce, so of course I accepted.

I also realized my last two jobs I had very little time to think about the offer. My last contract job I only had 3 hours... 3 hours! I wassn't in the right mindset to ask necessary questions about my boss's presence, etc.

But I'm glad I got the opportunity for this position to ask my questions.

I also asked questions after getting the offer. No benefits... but there's room for growth.

Also, social media and video editing right now is a no-no.

I want to wait for a better opportunity.

I really, really do.

Ambivalence

I had my interview today and came out of it feeling ambivalent.

The first flag was the floor it was located on... a floor full of construction. I managed to find my way to the office where it was tucked away in the corner. The office looks a bit old school from the outside. I stepped in and see one of the staff outside of his office, I close the door and the interviewer comes out to greet me. We started the interview right away, I was there 15 minutes early.

The interview asked a lot of questions about management style and asked me to outline my experience, what my managers would say about me, what I do for volunteering... etc. He then mentioned the social media and video aspect of the job, and said it's no guarantee but they do want to hire someone to take care of that stuff. I did cringe a bit there.

It came to my turn to ask questions. I asked more about the position and if it was new, found out that the previous admin left during her maternity leave... and she worked there for a few years. The past year they've had two people cover the position. I'm wondering if those people are also being considered for the role? Unless they left... then that's something I would like to inquire about if I get the offer. I then asked about company culture and success in the role. This is the part that stunned me. Basically, the culture is very similar to what I've experience in the past... I'm actually looking for a more team-environment where I can still be social. It's nice the staff are in the office everyday, however they're in their own offices... so it's very similar to one of my past jobs where eveyone was in their own office. It's also a small company too, not many staff. To be successful in the role is to be autonomous.

I feel like this is what most reception/office admin positions expect... D: Blah. I want to get out of that, but at least it's much better than my previous job.

Here's the part where I'm ambivalent... the culture really prides on open communication and the exchange of ideas. There's no hierarchy, so even the highest of the owners is available to chat on the phone, and ideas are always welcome. I really like that aspect, not a lot of companies I've worked for in the past are open to that.

The interviewer asked me again about scheduling and whether this fits. I managed to find out why the position was PT... it's mainly because it was to accommodate the schedule of the previous admin, but there is a potential for FT, if there's more work to do. So for example, if I get the chance to do the social media and video editing for the company, then that could help lead it to FT.

But I think deep inside of me I am cringing at the office admin part. He referred to one of my past roles and said the duties I fulfilled would be what I would be taking care of at the company. Yikes.

It's a company with rapid growth, which I find really appealing to work for... but ahhh I don't know. I should have asked if there's room for growth...

I was asked to send my references after the interview. I sent a thank you letter and my refs and received an e-mail back saying the interviewer will be contacting my refs tomorrow and will follow-up.

I said I'd be available this Thursday to start. I should have said I'd need a week or two weeks instead. If I get the offer, I definitely want to think about it.

It pays much better than a lot of jobs, but I think I could do better, but the experience building and having a permanent position is very tempting. Aiyeeee.

New plan

I was able to get an interview this upcoming Monday! It's an admin job, but the employer sounds very open to having me help with social media and video for the company as well. I'm very excited and I hope I can ace the interview.

The phone interview was on Thursday, and was pretty interesting. Basically the interviewer started off by asking me what my schedule was like and why I was open to a PT position. Then they asked about my admin experience and said I matched 70% of what they were looking for. Afterwards, I was advised they would be sending an email by the end of the day to let candidates know if they made it to the next round of face-to-face interviews. I then asked my question and then the interviewer was scrolling through my resume and asked me about my social media experience, then they noticed my video editing experience as well. Then they admitted they went on a tangent and that this talk could be saved for an in-person interview if I was selected... then instantly, the interviewer changed their mind and just scheduled me right then for an in-person interview this Monday! I'm pretty excited because the company is really interesting and I'm happy they found my other skills valuable to them. I'll have to emphasize them for sure when they ask why I should be hired.

I need to practice more for my interview. I'm going to wake up early tomorrow (today) and the day of and do a rehearsal. I need to remember some stories to tell and be as positive as I can be and myself!

I also need to iron my clothes and shine my shoes. Hopefully the weather will be good too!

My new plan is to first, get a job so I can be financially secure again and build my experience. I'm then going to start building my portfolio in web design, graphic design, social media and video production as much as I can on a part time basis. Then take that experience and apply that to work!

I really hope I can get a new job before the end of the month. I know I can, I know I can! :D

Internship route?

For the last few days, I've been reflecting on my current circumstances, the job market, and why I haven't gotten pass the interview stage.

Basically, my requirements right now for a job are: happiness over everything, working in a team environment in an office. Those are my requirements. Sounds pretty simple, right? It's so complex because the happiness is based on what industry the company is, and the kind of role.

All the jobs I interviewed for in the last month were jobs I was VERY interested in, But I didn't get them. One of them said it had to do with my experience, and the other just said it was because of the job pressure. I could've handled the latter better during my interview, because I did work in a very pressuring environment in my last job. Sigh. But it was a PT position, so I guess it's okay I wasn't chosen. The experience one, that's something I need to improve. 

Now... a lot of the jobs I've looked at require a lot of years of experience... but also they're within a role I've never really performed before. I've decided I might go ahead and try to do a post-graduation internship. But this is where my cold-emailing/calling skills will come into place. A lot of places require interns to still be in school, but I have seen instances were people outside of school could still intern.

Of course, a lot of internships are unpaid. That's totally fine if it's just for a few days/hours a week. If I can get the chance to prove that I'd be worthy of their workforce, it's a good deal. 

The thing is, with internships, they're usually for a few months or even longer... I wouldn't be able to sustain my finances for more than a few months. But... I have seen instances where people do get a job after their internship at the same company. But sometimes that can take a few months or even a year.

So what to do, really? 

I need to work in an office. I absolutely cannot work at home because I don't have a home office, and this is a place of comfort and relaxing AFTER work. There's a lot of internships floating around that have work at home internships, but I don't like that. Because of this reason and also because there's no real way they can really gauge how you work in an office/with people. So, no, absolutely no.

Hopefully I can find something really soon!! 

Losing hope :(

I think the goal now is to find a FT job... any FT job that isn't selling something.

I thought about this, and realized having a FT job is more secure than what I'm doing now (no job/side jobs). It's secure because it'll be FT, and I can keep working the job until I find something better.

Or it can be an awesome FT job and I won't want to find something better. <---basically a="" aiming="" am="" been="" but="" challenge.="" for="" i="" it="" p="" s="" what="">
I'm looking at admin jobs. Sigh. I need to stop it, but I'm looking at the FT ones. I realize people have to start somewhere, and a few of my friends did start at reception jobs... and worked their way up. I need to learn this mentality that I will grow professionally. I will be able to take my experience and move up.

I'm being more picky though, trying to find ones that aren't office admin. I want to be a department admin instead. I don't want to order office supplies, greet guests and answer the reception phone. :(

Also, the thing with admin jobs is sometimes there's absolutely nothing to do. Some companies are okay with you reading a book, but there's a lot of companies who aren't. I really don't like being bored. When there's nothing to do, of course you could socialize with your co-workers, talk to them to pass the time. A lot of my past positions I didn't have that luxury... I was usually working alone :( I want to work in a team environment.

I'm going to keep my head up high and apply for lots of FT jobs.

I also thought about going back to my old routine, where I worked both a FT and a PT job. Except this time it won't be PT, it'll be more freelancing/casual. This way I can still develop in my field and be able to take that experience forward.

C'mon, I can do it! I have one more week to meet my goal. I can do this.